Saint-Tropez is located on the French Riviera. It was a military stronghold and an unassuming fishing village until the beginning of the 20th century. It was the first town on this coast to be liberated during World War II (as part of Operation Dragoon). After the war, it became an internationally known seaside resort, renowned principally because of the influx of artists of the French New Wave in cinema and the Yé-yé movement in music. It later became a resort for the European and American jet set and a goal for tourists in search of a little Provençal authenticity and an occasional celebrity sighting.

The inhabitants of Saint-Tropez are called Tropéziens[1] (French pronunciation: ​[tʁɔpeˈzjɛ̃]), and the town is familiarly called St-Trop (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃ˈtʁɔp]).

Aerial view of Saint-Tropez, with Pampelonne beach in background and the citadel and the port in the foreground

Citadel of Saint-Tropez

In 599 BC, the Phocaeans founded Massilia (present-day Marseille) and established coastal mooring sites in the region. In 31 BC, the Romans invaded the region. Their citizens built many opulent villas in the area; one is known as the "Villa des Platanes" (Villa of the Plane trees). The first name given to the village was Heraclea-Caccaliera, and the mouth of the Gulf was named The Issambres.

The town owes its current name from the early, semi-legendary martyr named Saint Torpes. The legend says that he was beheaded at Pisa during the reign of Nero, and that his body was placed in a rotten boat along with a rooster and a dog. The body landed at the present-day location of the town.[2][3][4]

Towards the end of the ninth century with the fall of the Roman Empire, pirates and privateers attacked and sacked the region for the next 100 years, and in the 10th century the village of La Garde-Freinet, 15 km (9 mi) north of St. Tropez, was founded. From 890–972, Saint-Tropez and its surroundings became an Arabic-Muslim colony dominated by the nearby Saracen settlement of Fraxinet.[5][6] In 940, Nasr ibn Ahmad was in control of Saint-Tropez.[6] In 961–963, Audibert, son of Berenger, the pretender to the throne of Lombardy who was pursued by Otto I, hid at Saint-Tropez.[6] In 972, the Muslims of Saint-Tropez held the abbot of Cluny Maïeul until he was released for ransom.[6]

In 976, William ICount of Provence, lord of Grimaud, began attacking the Muslims and in 980 built a tower at the current location of the Suffren tower. In 1079 and 1218, Papal bulls mentioned the existence of a manor in Saint-Tropez.

From 1436, Count René I (called "good King René") tried to repopulate the Provence. He created the Barony of Grimaud and appealed to the Genoan Raphael de Garezzio, a wealthy gentleman who sent a fleet of caravels carrying sixty Genoese families to the area. In return, Count René promised to exempt the citizens from taxation. On 14 February 1470, Jean de Cossa, the Baron of Grimaud and Grand Seneschal of Provence, reached an agreement with Raphael de Garezzio that allowed Garezzio to build city walls and two large towers which are still standing. One tower is at the end of the "Grand Môle" and the other is at the entrance to the "Ponche".

The city became a small Republic with its own fleet and army and was administered by two consuls and twelve elected councilors. In 1558 the office of Captain of City (Honorat Coste) was empowered to protect the city. The captain lead a militia and mercenaries who successfully resisted attacks by the Turks, Spaniards, succored Fréjus and Antibes, and assisted the Archbishop of Bordeaux to regain control of the Lérins Islands.

In 1577, the daughter of the Marquis Lord of Castellane, Genevieve de Castilla, married Jean-Baptiste de Suffren, Marquis de Saint-Cannet, Baron de La Môle, and advisor to the Parliament of Provence. The lordship of Saint-Tropez became the prerogative of the de Suffren family.

Ad usque fidelis, Latin for "Faithful to the end". After the "dark age of plundering" the French Riviera, Raphaël de Garesio landed in Saint-Tropez on 14 February 1470 with 22 men (simple peasants or sailors who had left the overcrowded Italian Riviera). They rebuilt and repopulated the area, and in exchange for this service were granted by a representative of the "good king" Jean de Cossa, Baron of Grimaud and Seneschal of Provence, a number of privileges, including some previously reserved exclusively for lords, such as a tax-exempt status and the right to bear arms. Their motto was Ad usque fidelis and they kept their promise indeed. About 10 years later, a great wall with towers stood watch protecting the new houses from sea and interior land attack. Some 60 families formed the new community and on 19 July 1479 the new Home Act was signed, called: "The rebirth charter of Saint-Tropez".[8]

The main economic resource of Saint-Tropez is tourism. The city is well known for the Hôtel Byblos and for Les Caves du Roy, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, whose inauguration with Brigitte Bardot and Gunter Sachs in 1967 was an international event.

Tropezien beaches are located along the coast in the Baie de Pampelonne, which lies south of Saint-Tropez and east of Ramatuelle. Pampelonne offers a collection of beaches along its five-kilometre shore. Each beach is around thirty metres wide with its own beach hut and private or public tanning area.

Many of the beaches offer windsurfing, sailing and canoeing equipment for rent, while others offer motorized water sports, such as power boats, jet bikes and water skiing, and scuba diving. Some of the private beaches are naturist beaches.

Toplessness and nudity

In June, 1962, Austrian-Americanfashion designerRudi Gernreich introduced a topless swimsuit called the monokini that generated a great deal of controversy in the United States and internationally. During Gernrich's youth, some Austrians advocated nude exercising, which gave him this fashion idea.[10] The Vatican renounced the swimsuit, and L'Osservatore Romano said the "industrial-erotic adventure" of the topless bathing suit "negates moral sense."[11] In Italy and Spain the church warned against the topless fashion.[12] At Saint-Tropez, the mayor ordered police to ban toplessness and to watch over the beach via helicopter.[13]

During the 1960s, the monokini influenced the sexual revolution by emphasizing a woman's personal freedom of dress, even if her attire was provocative and exposed more skin than had been the norm during the more conservative 1950s.[13] Quickly renamed a "topless swimsuit",[13] the design was never successful in the United States, although the issue of allowing both genders equal exposure above the waist has been raised as a feminist issue from time to time.[14] In Saint Tropez, Tahiti beach, which had been popularised in the film And God Created Woman featuring Brigitte Bardot, emerged as a clothing-optional destination.[15] The "clothing fights" between the gendarmerie and nudists become the main topic of a famous French comedy film series Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez (The Troops of St. Tropez) featuring Louis de Funès, but in the end the nudist side prevailed.[16]Topless sunbathing is now the norm for both men and women from Pampelonne beaches to yachts in the centre of Saint-Tropez port.[17] The Tahiti beach is now clothing optional, but nudists often head to private nudist beaches, like that in Cap d'Agde.[18]

The port was widely used during the 18th century; in 1789 it was visited by 80 ships. Saint-Tropez's shipyards built tartanes and three-masted ships that could carry 1,000 to 12,200 barrels. The town was the site of various associated trades, including fishing, cork, wine, and wood. The town had a school of hydrography. In 1860 the floret of the merchant marine, named "The Queen of the Angels" (a three-masted ship of 740 barrels capacity), visited the port.

Its role as a commercial port declined, and it is now (2013) primarily a tourist spot and a base for many well known sail regattas. There is fast boat transportation with Les Bateaux Verts to Sainte-Maxime on the other side of the bay and to Port Grimaud, Marines de Cogolin, Les Issambres and St-Aygulf.

Each year, at the end of September, a regatta is held in the bay of Saint-Tropez (Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez). This is a draw for many yachts, some up to 50 metres in length. Many tourists come to the location for this event, or as a stop on their trip to Cannes, Marseille or Nice.

The 800 berths port with two marinas hosts boats, including ferries. In the summer season there is a ferry service between St-Tropez and Nice, Sainte-Maxime, Cannes, Saint Raphael,[23] or by chartering a private yacht.

Some examples of actual ships near/in the Saint-Tropez port can be shown there.

By air

There is no airport located in Saint-Tropez, but there is a charter service to and from clubs, town, and Tropezian beaches by helicopter.[24]

Rail: There is no rail station in Saint-Tropez. The nearest station is 'Saint-Raphaël-Valescure' located in Saint-Raphaël (39 km (24 mi) from Saint-Tropez), which also offers a boat service to Saint-Tropez.[28] There is also direct bus service to Saint-Tropez, and the rail station is connected with bus station.[29][30]

Bus: There is a bus station in Saint-Tropez called the French: Gare routière de Saint-Tropez located in Place Blanqui.[31] It is operated by Var department transport division Varlib, which employs other transport companies to operate routes.

Taxi: There are taxi services – including from Nice airport to Saint-Tropez – but this is not cheap due to long distances, and image of "wealthy Saint-Tropez".[30]

Private car: In the tourist season traffic problems can be expected on roads to Saint-Tropez,[32] so the fastest way to travel is by scooter or bike. There is no direct highway to the village. There are three main roads to Saint-Tropez:

There are more than 1000 students distributed among kindergartens, primary schools and one high school.[40] In 2011 there were 275 students in high school and 51 people employed there, of whom 23 were teachers.[41]